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Babysitters and Cloth Diapers

When I first started cloth diapering my daughter over a year ago, I thought that I might be the only person willing to change her diapers.  The words "cloth diapers" have a scare factor for many people.  At first, even my husband was skeptical about my decision to use cloth.  However, I have found that my husband, the grandparents, and even babysitters are quite willing to change cloth diapers, as long as I make it easy for them.

When I first started leaving my daughter in the church nursery in cloth, I told the nursery workers that they could just page me if she needed changed.  I didn't know if they would be willing to mess with an unfamiliar way of diapering, and I knew that they had several children to watch.  The ladies quickly told me that if I would tell them what to do, they would be willing to do it.  They just didn't want to get it "wrong."  From that point on, I realized that if changing my baby isn't really any more trouble than any other diaper change, people will give cloth a try.

So what is my routine for sitters?  First of all, I make sure that anyone watching my daughter knows how to change her.  I usually demonstrate a diaper change in front of anyone who hasn't seen her cloth diapers.  I also keep it simple.  Even though I love to use snap diapers, I know that most people are more comfortable with velcro; it is just so much more familiar, and it's easier to get the fit right on the first try.  So I only leave hook and loop closure pocket diapers, like Bum Genius or Thirsties Duo Diapers, for babysitters.  (And I do stuff my pockets ahead of time!)  Also, I don't expect anyone to pull out the inserts or dump the poop out of the diaper.  I just ask them to place it in a medium-size wet bag, and I deal with that part later.  That way, a babysitter only has to take off one diaper and put on a clean one - just like any diaper change.  What could be easier?

By Guest Blogger: Angel N.